On 12 November, UNHCR evacuated 262 individuals (139 men, 42 women and 81 children) to its Emergency Transit Mechanism in Niger, in the largest evacuation so far this year. The group included individuals held in detention facilities in and around Tripoli (Zintan, Tajoura, Trik Al Sikka, Al Sabaa, Abu-Salim, Qaser Ben Ghasher) and individuals who were living in the urban community. With this departure, UNHCR has evacuated 2,344 individuals out of Libya (1,937 to Niger, 312 to Italy and 95 to Romania).

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in a joint effort with IOM, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), UNOCHA and the Libyan Department for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM), organised on Tuesday an urgent evacuation of some 300 refugees and migrants held in Ain Zara detention centre in Tripoli. Tensions have been on the rise in the capital in recent days and armed groups are fighting in the immediate vicinity of the centre. Hundreds of refugees and migrants detained in Ain Zara were in clear danger of getting caught in the hostilities.

Against a backdrop of critical humanitarian needs faced by asylum seekers and refugees in Libya, UNHCR has up-scaled its response in seeking durable solutions for persons of concern (POCs) in third safe countries through its resettlement and humanitarian evacuations programmes.

486 monitoring visits to detention centres so far in 2018 1,006 asylum-seekers and refugees released from detention so far in 2018 (including for evacuations) 1,342 vulnerable refugees and asylumseekers evacuated since November 2017

The Event Tracker is part of IOM Libya’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) programme. DTM is a suite of tools that provide a comprehensive articulation of Libya’s human mobility patterns. The Event Tracker is a biweekly tool collecting and triangulating information on the whole of Libya on any incidents related to IDPs, returnees and migrants, especially in regards to large population movements updates on border closures and new routes. For more information visit www.globaldtm.info/libya.

Today, UNHCR appealed for more resettlement places for refugees after reports of some 160 new deaths on the Mediterranean. UNHCR renewed its appeal for help in saving human lives by offering more resettlement places and other safe alternatives to protection for refugees, including through family reunification. This week alone, some 160 people were reported dead or missing in three separate incidents in the Mediterranean Sea.